The ONS said that the UK's consumer price index — the key measure
of inflation — was 1.6%, up from 1.2% in November, and ahead of
the 1.4% forecasted by economists.

Core inflation figures, which strip out volatile goods like oil
and food, rose to 1.7% in the month, up from 1.4% at the previous
reading, and again ahead of expectations.

Here is how December's data looks like as part of the long-term
trend:

ONS

Despite increasing, inflation remains below the long-term trend —
as the chart shows, inflation was more than 5% as recently as
2011 — however after two years of negligible price growth, 1.6%
and climbing is still substantial, especially as prices are
expected to keep rising due to the weaker pound following the EU
referendum.

Here is the chart, breaking down UK inflation by
sector:

ONS

Prior to the Brexit vote, inflation stayed between -0.1% and 0.1%
for 10 months due to a collapse in oil prices and a supermarket
price war that led to slashed prices.